Police in Greece have detained 16 people and confiscated drugs and weapons in an operation aimed at dismantling the Turkish mafia active in the country, authorities said on Wednesday.
In recent years, Greece has seen a significant rise in the number of Turkish nationals involved in shootings or arrests for gun possession.
Police sources have linked the increase to a bigger presence in Greece of Turkish criminal gang members who have fled Turkey and clashed with each other on foreign ground.
This week, two Turkish nationals died and one was seriously hurt in a mafia-style shooting in the Athens suburb of Glyfada.
A witness told the ERT public broadcaster that they heard approximately 30 gunshots during the incident.
The injured victim is currently being treated at Asklipieio Hospital in Voula. Police who are investigating the incident believe that the motive for the shooting was turf wars between rival gangs in Athens.
Police said in November that they had dismantled a multi-member Turkish drug trafficking gang.
In June, a 22-year-old Turkish national was jailed pending trial after killing another Turk and seriously injuring a third in a gun attack at the port city of Piraeus.
Turkish mafia shootout in Greece
In another incident that shocked Greek public opinion, six individuals were shot dead in a coastal town near Athens in September 2023.
All the victims were men. They were discovered in and around a vehicle and all had sustained gunshot wounds, with at least one handgun suspected to have been used. The targeted vehicle reportedly bore German license plates. Local media reported the discovery of twenty-five shell casings at the scene.
It later emerged that the six victims shot in the town of Artemida (Loutsa) in Eastern Attica were members of the Dalton mafia led by Turkish criminal Baris Boyun, who has reportedly found refuge in Italy.
The story has made the headlines in the Turkish Hurriyet and Millyet news outlets, and the victims’ names became public. TikTok videos were also shared with people celebrating the gang members’ deaths with red “X”s splattered over photos of the dead men.
The victims shot were identified as Doruk Ersu Buyuktunc, Abdurrahman Tekru, Omer Kanza, Ozan Kaan Tozlu, Barıs Cagan, and Burak Tahmaz, all members of Boyun’s gang.
Boyun is known for leading gangs with hitmen riding motorcycles based in Istanbul Turkey. This was not the first time him and his gang were attacked abroad.
Boyun’s name became famous in the streets of Istanbul after his gang attacked individuals with whom they had disagreements over drug trafficking and revenue sharing.
When the police hunted him down, he fled abroad. His gang continued performing illegal activities in the city.